Thrifty Car and Van Rental has moved to a new location in Coventry. The car and van hire branch which was previously located near Coventry Airport has now moved to a more central location on Foleshill Road:

Hourly van hire is a popular service in urban areas, where you may only need a van for a couple of hours in order to move a few pieces of furniture or collect a bulky item and deliver it locally.

Not all companies offer this service, but the good news is that Thrifty recently launched its own hourly hire service, which could lead to big potential savings for anyone needing a van for less than half a day.

You can book hourly hire rates on Thrifty’s website by simply setting the pick-up and drop-off dates to be the same, and then choosing collection and return times.

I tried a couple of quotes and found that the rates for smaller vans especially can be significantly cheaper — I found that a short wheelbase van like a Ford Transit SWB hired for a couple of hours could be around 35% cheaper than the same van hired for 24 hours.

For some reason, the hourly rate savings on larger vans were less, or sometimes non-existent — but availability and rates on different dates and locations are likely to vary, so I’d suggest trying a quote for yourself if you only need a van for a few hours and are close to a Thrifty branch (you can see a list of Thrifty branches here).

Other choices: It’s worth noting that Hertz and Europcar also offer hourly van hire and have done for a while. You can see full details on our hourly van hire page (click here), where I’ll also add details of the Thrifty hourly hire service shortly.

“With an anticipated increase of tourism this summer, it is very exciting to have the opportunity to develop such a prime location. We have a very experienced team here at Luton, so customers can expect a knowledgeable and friendly service with every rental.”

“People are becoming increasingly active throughout their lives and as a result people are retiring later, travelling further, and more frequently, and are generally more mobile now than ever. Thrifty wants to support all mature drivers by providing the opportunity to fulfil their rental needs for the future.”

I’ve done a quick test quote on the Thrifty website and after pretending to be 80, I can confirm that older drivers can now hire vans online.

Older and younger drivers should note that Thrifty charges a daily surcharge of £12 +VAT for drivers over 70 and under 25 — this was in place before the upper age limit was removed and is included in online quotes. (Information correct as of 09/10/2012.)

After an absence of nearly eight years, Thrifty Car & Van Rental is returning to Northern Ireland with the opening of a new branch in Belfast.

Located in the Days Hotel on Hope Street in the capital, the new branch offers a wide selection of cars, minibuses and vans, serving the needs of both residents and visitors to the area. The new branch is also hoping to attract business customers; its flexible short and long-term rental services allow businesses to adjust their fleet size without having to commit to finance or purchase on an additional vehicle.

Sean Curley, location manager, said:

“This new branch is ideally located in the centre of Belfast and easily accessible for businesses, holidaymakers and city dwellers looking to hire a vehicle. We have a very experienced team here at the new branch and customers can expect a knowledgeable and friendly service with every rental.”

Thrifty can also provide satellite navigation and full breakdown cover with its vehicles to ensure trouble free motoring. In addition, both business and leisure customers can receive special discounts and low cost rates when they book online at Thrifty.co.uk.

“We are really excited to have added another location to our growing network, especially as this is the first branch we’ve opened in Northern Ireland in almost 8 years. Opening the outlet in Belfast is part our strategic plan to expand the business into new areas and the location was chosen to ensure a strong geographic spread.”

The new branch is located at, Dollar Thrifty Car Rental, Days Hotel, 40 Hope Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland BT12 5EE. You can see full details of the branch, including a map and vehicle listing, on our branch page (click here).

The new branch offers Thrifty’s usual selection of cars and vans and is open six days a week (Mon-Fri 0830 – 1730 and Saturdays 0830 – 1230).

The branch is located on Colonial Way in Watford and Thrifty believe it will serve the holiday market as well as retail and business customers.

Finley Humphries, Watford branch manager, commented:

“With the current economic climate the way it is, more and more holidaymakers are choosing to stay in the UK so anyone looking to rent a vehicle for their trip should pop down to the branch. We boast a friendly team of staff and we pride ourselves on our experience and professionalism.”

“We are thrilled to add another location to our growing network, which will be further strengthened over the coming year. Our new branch in Watford is ideally located on Colonial Way, so it’s easily accessible for anyone looking to hire a vehicle and get away.”

Thrifty Car & Van Rental has been chosen as Rental Supplier of the Year at the Leaseplan Supplier Conference 2012. Thrifty was also given the award for Overall Supplier of the Year 2012.

Thrifty was Leaseplan’s largest rental supplier in 2011, supplying three times as many cars and vans as in 2010.

Commenting on the award, Caroline Gallagher, Director of Corporate Sales at Thrifty said:

“At Thrifty we pride ourselves on providing an exceptional level of customer service coupled with a flexible offering and we are delighted to have had our efforts recognised in such a prestigious manner.”

I am very pleased to be able to announce that we have now added all 85 of Thrifty’s UK van rental locations to vanrental.co.uk. We know have more than 800 van rental branches listed in our database, providing great coverage of the whole of the UK.

Thrifty is one of the world’s best-known rental brands and offers a very comprehensive UK van hire service, including one-way van hire and European van hire. Thrifty also offers minibus hire, another popular service with our visitors.

Thrifty’s UK van fleet includes small vans, short, long and extra-long wheelbase vans and luton vans with tail lifts. Thrifty also offers double cab 4×4 pick-ups, an offering that’s bound to be popular if we have another bad winter.